The plan cost $109,000 and was almost two years in the making, sparked by allegations of racial profiling by police officers that were raised back in January of 2014. Former School Board member Don Denard said he had been profiled, and other black residents and visitors soon came forward with stories of their own experiences with police officers. That discussion was broadened to include a conversation about all forms of diversity in the city. Decatur hired the Art of Community to facilitate the discussion.

For its efforts, Decatur won two awards from the City-County Communications & Marketing Association for its Better Together initiative, according to a press release.

“Decatur won a Savvy (1st place) for Community Visioning and an Award of Excellence (3rd place) for Citizen Engagement,” the press release says. “Judges noted that the effort was impressive for a community of any size – a well developed and executed process from start to finish that resulted in a very comprehensive action plan.”

The following people have been selected to serve on the Better Together Advisory Board:

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